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# catfish

noun (a catfish, catfish); verb (catfish, catfishes, catfished, catfishing — slang)

«catfish» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A catfish is a fish with long whiskers around its mouth, like a cat's. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#m1)
2. (slang, online) To catfish someone means to pretend to be another person online, using a false name and photos, to trick them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#m2)
3. (slang) A catfish is a person who does this. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science, river animals and habitats; in online-safety lessons, catfishing is a danger: people online may not be who they say; tell a trusted adult if something feels wrong.

### Examples

- The catfish lives on the muddy river bottom. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#x1)
- A catfish has whiskers called barbels. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#x2)
- We caught a big catfish in the lake. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#x3)
- He was catfished by someone pretending to be a twelve-year-old (slang). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#x4)
- Catfishing is when someone lies about who they are online. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#x5)
- Never meet an online friend without a parent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/#x6)

### Note

Plural: catfish (same). Safety: catfishing is a serious online risk; never share personal details or photos with strangers online.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «catfish» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/catfish/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«catfish» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/catfish.html) on Mova free.